2 Kings & Psalm 44
A Couple of Reasons
Psalm 44 was written by the sons of Korah is a difficult one to understand. Korah was a cousin of Moses and lost his life when he rebelled against the God given authority of Moses. (Numbers 16) Not only did he rebel but he apparently gathered quite a following of people who also suffered the consequences of rebellion.This Psalm is called a maskil or contemplation which means instruction. The setting of this Psalm could fit in one of several periods of time in the history of Israel. Many think it was written when Assyria had conquered the nation of Israel, which was the northern kingdom that consisted of ten of the twelve tribes. Assyria also had captured over 200 of the cities of Judah, and had surrounded Jerusalem.
The northern Kingdom was formed out of rebellion. In their history they never had a godly king and were very worldly. They talked the talk but they were like the people described by Paul in the last days as having the form of godliness but denying the power. (2 Timothy 3)
Judah also had its share of rebellious and ungodly kings including Ahaz the father of Hezekiah who was king during the time of Assyria’s invasion of Judah.
When we rebel against God we should always expect problems. We fall into too many unseen traps and suffer many consequences as the result of rebellion against God. It is in these times, when surrounded by the consequences of our actions, we need to stop and consider what brought us to this point and remember the former times when God was directing our lives. This is the real purpose of consequences. Consequences are a wakeup call to our tendency toward rebellion.
With three grandkids playing baseball I get to spend a lot of time watching games. I have learned something watching the pitchers. If batters are getting a lot of hits off the pitcher then the pitcher needs to make an adjustment if he wants to stay in the game. He needs to quit throwing the pitch that the batters are hitting and throw one that they can’t hit. The same is true for those who are in rebellion. When the consequences pile up, it is time to make an adjustment. We call this repentance. Griping, complaining, whining, crying, and so on about the consequences is not repentance. Repentance is putting off the old rebellion and turning back to God.
This is what King Hezekiah did for the nation of Judah. He reopened the temple and reestablished the feasts by which God was worshiped. When surrounded by the Assyrians he sought God and God delivered Jerusalem defeating the Assyrians in ways they could never have imagined.
God desires repentance and wants to bless his people but before He can get our attention we need to turn from rebellion. God has that base covered as well. He used consequences.
Every day people ask me how is it going or how am I doing? I, like many, give the standard answer, fine. But, how is it really going? Sometimes we need to reflect on the question and come up with a truthful answer and make some adjustments. That is the homework for today. Leviticus 26 would have been good homework for the sons of Korah.
Grace and Peace
Pastor Dave